1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates generally to the field of automotive equipment. More particularly, the present invention relates to the field of exterior protective devices for use with vehicles to protect the hood of vehicles from various road hazzards such as rocks, pebbles and other debris and also provides additional impact safety against impacts caused by the vehicle crashing into something or from collisions and fender end impacts such as curbs, tree branches, shopping carts, parking lot walls, posts, etc.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Specifically, exterior protective devices for vehicle hoods are well known in the art. The most common type which is currently in use is a plastic or vinyl type covering which is stretched over the hood of the vehicle and is retained in place by various attaching means. However, none of prior art vehicle hood protectors have means for providing additional impact protection against impacts caused by the vehicle crashing into something or from collisions and fender end impacts. One of the disadvantages with this type of hood protector is that it is bolted or screwed into a vehicle: both requiring the placement of holes into a vehicle; and requiring an individual to have the skills and tools to do so. Another problem with prior art hood protectors is that in most designs, the protector, whether it is made of cloth or plastic, must be removed when the vehicle""s hood is to be raised to access the engine well for purposes of checking the oil, battery, etc. A further disadvantage with prior art hood protectors is that they can be easily stolen.
The following nine (9) prior art patents are found to be pertinent to the field of the present invention:
1. U.S. Pat. No. 4,274,667 issued to Dietmar on Jun. 23, 1981 for xe2x80x9cBumper For Motor Vehiclesxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cDietmar Patentxe2x80x9d);
2. U.S. Pat. No. 4,324,427 issued to Huang et al. on Apr. 13, 1982 for xe2x80x9cAutomobile Bumper With Adiabatic Devicexe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cHuang Patentxe2x80x9d);
3. U.S. Pat. No. 4,643,471 issued to Fishback on Feb. 17, 1987 for xe2x80x9cAutomotive Vehicle Dent Protection Devicexe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cFishback Patentxe2x80x9d);
4. U.S. Pat. No. 4,842,319 issued to Ziegler et al. on Jun. 27, 1989 for xe2x80x9cDeflector Shield And Guard Assembly For Motor Vehiclesxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cZiegler Patentxe2x80x9d);
5. U.S. Pat. No. 4,953,909 issued to Crane on Sep. 4, 1990 for xe2x80x9cVehicle Hood Protector With Specialized Attaching Apparatusxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cCrane Patentxe2x80x9d);
6. U.S. Pat. No. 4,997,229 issued to Swanson on Mar. 5, 1991 for xe2x80x9cApparatus For Covering Selected Portions Of A Vehicle Bodyxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cSwanson Patentxe2x80x9d);
7. U.S. Pat. No. 5,056,817 issued to Fuller on Oct. 15, 1991 for xe2x80x9cTemperature-Rise Limiting Automobile Braxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cFuller Patentxe2x80x9d);
8. U.S. Pat. No. 5,158,324 issued to Flesher on Oct. 27, 1992 for xe2x80x9cProtective Cover For Vehiclesxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cFlesher Patentxe2x80x9d); and
9. U.S. Pat. No. 5,975,621 issued to Lefevre on Nov. 2, 1999 for xe2x80x9cVehicle Hood Shieldxe2x80x9d (hereafter the xe2x80x9cLefevre Patentxe2x80x9d).
The Dietmar Patent discloses a bumper for motor vehicles. It comprises a rigid support and a covering made of elastic material. The covering has two arms extending from an edge of the covering that is adjacent to the body in use. First arms are located within the contour of the covering and include a fastening section for attaching the covering to the vehicle, and second arms form an extension of the outside contour of the covering and conceal the first arms. A flexible hinge is utilized to connect the covering to the body.
The Huang Patent discloses an automobile bumper with a flexible adiabatic device. It includes a shock-absorbing device for receiving impact blows to the bumper.
The Fishback Patent discloses an automotive vehicle dent protection device. It comprises a pair of shock absorbing elements joined by connectors. The absorbing elements comprise a series of laterally adjacent pockets that are open at the top for allowing easy removal or replacement of shock absorbing inserts.
The Ziegler Patent discloses a deflector shield and guard assembly for motor vehicles. The device comprises a molded wraparound shield assembly attached along the horizontal and vertical side edges of the hood portion directly behind the grille which is secured in placed by flexible shock mounting strips along the horizontal edge and vertical sides of the hood portion. The device further comprises a molded wraparound cover plate positioned in an overlapping relation to the horizontal edge and opposite vertical side edges of the shield. The device further comprises molded guard members disposed in an overlying relation to a surrounding portion of the front grille of the vehicle together with front fender guard members which conform to and are disposed in overlying relation to the front fender and headlight portion of the vehicle.
The Crane Patent discloses a vehicle hood protector with a specialized attaching apparatus. The attaching apparatus includes four attaching blocks identical to retaining blocks, attached at the two front corners of the hood and at the intersection of the hood protector at the rearmost edges of the hood which are covered by the hood protector.
The Swanson Patent discloses an apparatus for covering selected portions of a vehicle body. It comprises an engaging structure which includes straps, webbing or a fabric sleeve and is configured to engage a member for securing and conforming the cover on the selected portion of the vehicle so that the cover maintains conformity with the first contoured area and edges.
The Fuller Patent discloses a temperature-rise limiting automobile bra which is constructed from four layers of materials, which include a first non-abrasive layer, a second thermal radiation reflective layer, a third elastomeric reticulated foam layer, and a fourth water impervious layer.
The Flesher Patent discloses a protective cover for vehicles. The protective cover comprises a plurality of segments which are made of flexible material. Each segment has a particular ferromagnetic sheet magnetic base portion and a resilient top portion. Each segment is cut to conform to the physical characteristics of the external body surface of the vehicle, and is secured by the magnetic attraction of the magnetic base portion to the magnetically attractive body portion of the vehicle.
The Lefevre Patent discloses a vehicle hood shield. It comprises a layer of flexible magnetically impregnated material to which is contiguously bonded a soft emulsion layer. The shield is cut in the general shape of a vehicle hood and including V-shaped cuts along the reward edge to facilitate placement onto a vehicle hood without bunching.
It is desirable to provide a vehicle impact protective apparatus which is aesthetic in appearance and is functional in that it protects the hood from being dented and damaged by flying objects and debris which may be thrown against the hood, and has an attaching mechanism to prevent it from being easily stolen while at the same time permitting access to the engine compartment without the necessity of removing the impact protective apparatus. It is also desirable to provide a vehicle impact protective apparatus which includes a gel-air impact bumper, a retractable impact spoiler and an impact hood shield for providing impact safety against impacts caused by the vehicle crashing into something or from collisions and fender end impacts such as curbs, tree branches, shopping carts, parking lot walls, posts, etc.
The present invention is an external impact protective apparatus for vehicles. The apparatus includes an impact hood shield device, a gel-air impact bumper device and a flexible retractable impact spoiler device. The hood shield device is detachably attached to the vehicle""s hood by retaining locking systems such that the hood shield device covers the hood as well as the front fenders of the vehicle. The gel-air bumper device is detachably connected to the hood shield device and hangs down therefrom to cover a portion of the vehicle""s grill to allow for airflow to the engine and protect the vehicle""s bumper in case of heavier impact events and adding impact integrity to the overall apparatus"" safety feature. The gel-air bumper device will not cover or obstruct the headlights, turn signal lights or any other lights on the vehicle and the gel-air bumper device is designed to absorb light collisions with the cushioning protection to about an impact of an additional 5 mph/hr over the impact a conventional bumper is designed to absorb. The flexible spoiler device is hingeably connected to the gel-air bumper device for reducing lift at high speeds and protecting the bottom of the vehicle from objects underneath.
It has been discovered, according to the present invention, that if an external impact protective apparatus includes an impact hood shield device made of one piece of clear material conformed to the shape of the hood of a vehicle, then the hood shield device can act as a protective barrier to prevent rocks and other debris which are thrown upon the hood from marring the hood, while at the same time functioning as a decorative accessory which does not detract from the appearance of the vehicle.
It has also been discovered, according to the present invention, that if an external impact protective apparatus includes an impact hood shield device that is retained on the hood by a retaining locking system that is held in place through a channel wedge member attached to the edge of the hood and wedged in the groove between the hood and the fender of a vehicle, then the hood shield device is safely secured on the vehicle in a manner by which it cannot be stolen off a locked vehicle even when the vehicle is left unattended.
It has additionally been discovered, according to the present invention, that if an external impact protective apparatus includes a gel-air impact bumper device that is detachably attached to a hood shield device and covers a portion of the vehicle""s grill to allow for airflow to the engine while at the same time not covering or obstructing the headlights, turn signal lights or any other lights on the vehicle, then the gel-air bumper device can absorb light collisions caused by impacts such as from other vehicles, curbs, tree branches, shopping carts, parking lot walls, posts, etc.
It has further been discovered, according to the present invention, that if an external impact protective apparatus includes an impactable rubber retractable impact spoiler device that is hingeably connected to a gel-air impact bumper device, then the spoiler device can swivel away without breaking when the spoiler device strikes an object and springs back to its initial position ready for another impact such as a parking curb.
It is an object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which includes an impact hood shield device that protects the hood of vehicles from rocks and other debris which may be thrown onto the vehicle""s hood. In the alternative embodiment which includes a metal embedded crash grill adaptationxe2x80x94an off road stylexe2x80x94it can absorb even greater values than just the metallic grills.
It is also an object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which includes an impact hood shield device which is decorative and does not detract from the appearance of the vehicle and also does not hide the surface of the hood from view.
It is an additional object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which includes an impact hood shield attached to the hood in a manner which prevents the hood shield device from being removed from a locked vehicle with the hood in the closed position.
It is a further object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which permits the user to have access to the engine compartment of the vehicle without first requiring the external impact protective apparatus to be removed.
It is still an additional object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which includes a gel-air impact bumper device that is detachably attached to a hood shield device.
It is still a further object of the present invention to provide an external impact protective apparatus which includes a flexible retractable impact spoiler device that is hingeably connected to a gel-air impact bumper device, so that the spoiler device can swivel away without breaking when the spoiler device strikes an object and springs back to its initial position ready for another impact.
Further novel features and other objects of the present invention will become apparent from the following detailed description, discussion and the appended claims, taken in conjunction with the drawings.